FHP reopens I-75, US 27

Fog, smoke force closures on Alligator Alley, US 27

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. - The Florida Highway Patrol reopened Alligator Alley and U.S. 27 Tuesday morning after parts of the roadways were closed because of fog and smoke.

The roadways were closed for a second day in a row due in part to the Huckabee Wildfire, which is burning in Collier County near Mile Marker 75.

"Any time you have the fog mixed with the smoke, it's a serious situation," said FHP Sgt. Mark Wysocky. The alley, you figure, is 75 miles long, so we have to go check the whole alley to make sure there are not still spots where the fog is still mixed with the smoke and U.S. 27 has a lot of low-lying areas, so we had to double check everything to make sure everything was clear."

FHP reopened Alligator Alley, U.S. 27, and Krome Avenue at 10 a.m.

The Huckabee Wildfire has burned 20,000 acres and was 45 percent contained as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Ryan Stubblebine with the Big Cypress National Preserve.

"We're now up there in the red area, which means if a fire gets started, it could move quite rapidly," said Scott Pietrich with the Division of Forestry. "If we get multiple lightning strikes out there without the sufficient rainfall, that's when we get wildfires started quite easily."